Damper-sustaining device for piano-actions.



No. 763,200. PATENTED JUNE 21, 1904.

I A. NICKEL. DAMPER SUSTAINING DEVICE FOR PIANO ACTIONS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented June 21, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ADAM NICKEL, OF NEV' YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 763,200, dated June 21,1904.

Application filed March 2, 1904. Serial No. 196,122. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ADAM NICKEL, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York city, (Manhattan) county and State of New York,have invented new and useful Improvements in Damper Sustaining Devicesfor Piano-Actions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a damper-sustaining device for piano-actionswhich is so constructed that the damper-levers of the depressed keys areeffectively held 0E their strings while the damper-levers of all theother keys retain their unobstructed freedom of motion.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly insection, of an upright-piano action provided with my improveddamper-sustaining device and showing the normal position of the parts;Fig. 2, a similar view of part of the action, showing the position of adamper tilted prior to the depression of the sustaining-pedal; Fig. 3, asimilar view showing the position of a damper tilted after thedepression, and Fig. 4 a similar view showing a damper-sustainingextension directly above a sustaining-lever.

The letter a represents the damper-lever of an upright-piano actioninfluenced by spring a and actuated by the spoon b, secured to wippen c,which is fulcrumed at 0'.

Whenever the sustaining-pedal is depressed, the dampers of the keys helddown must be held off the strings, while the dampers of all the otherkeys must retain their usual full freedom of movement. To effect thisresult, I have devised the following construction.

d is the oscillating sustaining-rail,suspended by hangers d fromsupports a, The rail (Z is provided with a bent arm (2 engaged by alifter j, which is operated by the sustainingpedal. (Not shown.) Thus bya depression of the pedal the rail (Z is swung backward, while upon arelease of the pedal it is swung forward by a spring (Z To the rail (Zis secured below each damper-lever a a forked bearing g, to which isfulcrumed at g an elbow-lever h, which 1 term a sustaining-lever. Thehorizontal arm of this lever is adapted to engage the top of rail (Z,against which it is normally held by a spring h. The upright arm oflever IL is in a vertical plane with a sustaining extension 1',depending from damper-lever a.

The upper or working edge of the upright arm of lever it extends abovepivot g and is located in a vertical plane back of a vertical planedrawn through the pivot. Thus any vertical pressure exerted upon theupper end of lever it will tend to tilt the lever upon its fulcrum andjamming of the parts is prevented.

In the normal position of the parts the top of lever h is below thebottom of extension 2', and thus does not interferewith the freemovement of the damper, Fig. 1. When, however, the sustaining-pedal isdepressed, the top of lever it is projected above the bottom ofextension 6 and is thus carried into the path of the extension, Figs. 2and 3.

The device operates as follows: If a key is depressed,the damperextensionz' corresponding to such key is thereby swung backward, Fig. 2.If now the sustaining-pedal is depressed, it will raise the rail (Z, andconsequently the levers ii, so as to carry these levers upward and infront of the extensions 2' of the depressed keys, Fig. 2. Thus thedampers of the depressed keys will be held off the strings as long asthe pedal remains depressed, the engagement of horizontal arms of leversit with rail d preventing a forward tilting of the levers. Theextensions of those dampers the keys of which have not been depressedwill, however, remain in front of their levers h, Fig. 3; but as theselevers are likewise projected above the lower ends of the extensionsitis of importance that the levers do not impede the free movement of thedampers. This important result is accomplished by my invention, becauseupon the subsequent depression of a key the extension 2' in swingingbackward will tilt the lever h backward against action of spring it.Thus the lever will not form an impediment to the action of the damper,but will constitute amovable abutment which readily yields to slightpressure from the damper. So, also, when by the raising of the rail (Zduring the partial depression of a key the lever A arrives directlybelow an extension 2', Fig. 4:, a dead-lock of the damper and anyjammingof the parts will not take place, because the verticalpressureexerted upon the lever h will tilt the lever upon its fulcrumand permit the extension i to slip off the same. Thus it will be seenthat the dampers of all the non-depressed keys are always free tooperate and that any jamming of the parts is effectively prevented.

What I claim is 1. In a pianoaction, the combination of a damper-leverhaving an extension, a swinging sustaining-rail, and an elbow-leverpivoted to said rail, the working edge of said lever being arranged backof and above the lever-fulcrum, substantially as specified.

tially as specified.

Signed by me at New York city (Manhattan), New York, this 15th day ofFebruary, 1904.

ADAM NICKEL.

Witnesses PHILIP MENGES, GHAs. MUHLENFELS.

